Anti-alcoholism drugs have been discovered
There are already medicinal preparations that can become indispensable assistants in the fight against alcohol addiction.
However, according to scientists, they are prescribed to people with an alcohol problem too rarely.
What are the medications that can help someone stop drinking?
“Most people who have some kind of alcohol problem do not receive any treatment. One in 10 percent of patients with alcohol dependence take medication such as part of a more complex therapy,” says Dr. Daniel Jonas, a professor at the University of North Carolina.
Two other drugs, nalmefene and topiramate, may also help patients drink less alcohol.
Nalmefene is designed to treat pain, and topiramate prevents a seizure, but “unofficially” these drugs are also used to treat alcohol dependence.
At the same time, Dr. Daniel Jonas notes that in any case, these medications should only be used in conjunction with other types of treatment.
“We still don’t know if it is appropriate to use them completely independently. All studies of these pharmaceutical preparations have been conducted against the background of parallel psychological work with patients.
If we follow standard treatment, every patient diagnosed with alcoholism is required to undergo psychotherapy and attend a support group. So doctors can prescribe drugs for alcoholism only after that, and then if they think it’s necessary,” explains Dr. Jonas.
“But we are of the opinion that if you implement pill-drinking at the very beginning of the therapy, it will definitely give you many advantages”.
The results of Dr. Jonas’ research were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The team of scientists led by Dr. Daniel Jonas examined the results of 122 studies of the alcohol addiction drugs acamprosate and naltrexone. They managed to come to the conclusion that significant positive results when taking acamprosate were observed in one out of every 12 patients, and when taking naltrexone – in one out of 20 people.
Dr. Katarina Bradley, a senior researcher at the Seattle Institute, has confirmed that there are several effective drugs that can be used to treat alcohol addiction.
Medications traditionally taken for the treatment of alcoholism work on the following principle: if a person drinks alcohol during the course of treatment, he becomes sick. Newer pharmaceutical preparations, however, do not have such an effect.
“On the contrary, these drugs act on the physiological basis ofalcohol dependence, thus suppressing the person’s desire to drink alcohol,” says Dr. Bradley.
“The choice of the type of therapy and treatment is the result of a trusting communication between doctor and patient. The doctor is obliged to tell the alcohol addict about all possible options,” adds Bradley.
Alcohol addiction is a serious disease, but many treatment methods have already been developed for it. If you have such a problem, contact a specialist who will select the necessary doses of preparations and direct you to the right psychological help.
